The Drug Of Choice
by CherrySoda99
Summary: A NEW STORY! Ava comes from Boston and has a history of using alcohol and drugs. She ends up moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma to get away from her temptations, and meets the gang of Greasers. WARNING: Contains language, substance abuse, and mature content.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was cold out. Colder than it should be in Boston for this time of year. The bus stop was nearly deserted except for a few stragglers who were either carrying briefcases, shopping bags or children. The air was icy. Not chilly, not cold, but icy – as if something was coming; something big.

Ava took a long drag on her cigarette. To be honest – she knew it was unhealthy, but she wasn't trying to quit. She was too hooked to quit. Nicotine was about the only thing going right in her life right now, and she wasn't about to let that slip away from her.

She stared impatiently down the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of the big, white bus that was coming to take her away.

"Damn transit system," she thought to herself. "Getting slower every day."

She looked down by her side, and unfortunately realized that she was one of those stragglers. She had a backpack full of everything she owned, and a bus ticket in her pocket. She was leaving the city. She was tired of the city – at least, this city. Boston hadn't been kind to her, and realistically, she didn't even know why she came to this blasted city in the first place. All she had managed to accomplish here was how to smoke a pack a day, and where to get the best beer.

As she stomped on the last remaining ashes of her cigarette, she heard the bus coming down the hill towards the stop.

"Finally." She said, picking up her bag, and fumbling around for her ticket. She climbed on the bus, and grabbed an empty seat near the back. It was already getting dark outside, and she knew she was in for a long night. Ava didn't mind though – the one thing she actually did like about being alone, was that she was able to gather her thoughts. Right now, she had plenty to think about. First and foremost on her mind, was why the hell she was leaving Boston to go to Tulsa, Oklahoma? Of all the places in America, why was Tulsa so appealing? Truth is, it wasn't appealing at all. Tulsa was the last place that Ava could've ever imagined herself going, outside of maybe Alaska.

The bus continued to travel down the road long into the night. Soon the tall skyscrapers turned into modest family house, and then to farms, until finally there was nothing in sight but road and fields that stretched seemingly to the edge of the planet.

Ava tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She usually wasn't intrigued by scenery, but this type caught her eye.

Ava had grown up in Virginia. It wasn't as barren as Oklahoma, but it wasn't a big city like Boston either. She had two younger sisters, and from day one she felt that it was her responsibility to make sure nothing happened to them. Her mother wasn't exactly the textbook, apron wearing, dust mopping, supper cooking mother. She went out to bars at night with her friends, leaving her three daughters alone in an empty house until the wee hours of the morning, then came home drunk as a skunk and passed out on the couch 

until mid afternoon. Ava was used to fending for herself – making her own meals as well as her sisters', and getting herself to school on time. She managed to keep her grades up well doing all this – until her mother overdosed on sleeping pills and never woke up.

Ava was 16 when this happened. It was little over a year ago, and she could still remember it vividly. She had picked up her sister's, Denise and Michelle from school and walked them home. As soon as they got in the house, Ava saw her mother sprawled out on the couch – as usual – with a bottle of pills on the coffee table beside her. She didn't think anything of it until Michelle went to wake her mother for dinner, and came running out to the kitchen to inform her that "Mommy wasn't breathing anymore."

Needless to say, there was nothing anyone could do for her. She was already gone, and there was no use trying to get her back. The fun part had come after the funeral. The state came up to check on Ava and her sister's every once in awhile – as Ava was considered old enough to look after them so long as she kept the state up to date on their condition. Everything was going smoothly until one day the state decided that Denise and Michelle would be better off in a foster home.

Ava wasn't a crier by nature, but she would be the first to admit that this broke her. Her sister's were all she had left, and by them being taken away from her, it cemented the fact that she was now alone. She managed to keep up her schooling for another couple of months, but it wasn't any use. She couldn't concentrate, and this is partially what caused her to start smoking. Casually at first, but then more and more as she found it helped settle her nerves. Eventually, she dropped out of school altogether, and hopping on the first bus to Boston. She wasn't sure why Boston called her then, anymore than she wasn't sure why Tulsa called her now, but she followed what her brain was telling her, and soon became a city girl.

This is when her life began to live in the fast lane. For her 17th birthday, her "friends" took her out to a bar, and snuck her in, claiming she was 19 (although she really could pass for it). They all drank long into the night, and Ava could shamefully admit that she understood what drew her mother to this lifestyle. As long as she was drinking, she didn't have a care in the world, and she liked that better than being burdened with – not only her own problems – but everyone else's as well.

After that night, all she wanted to do was party hard. She started smoking more; up to a pack a day if she set her mind to it. She also managed to be drunk more often than she was sober. Not that she could remember it anyway, but that's what people told her.

Everything was going fantastic for her. She had a boy that she considered a "boyfriend" – although, in this world, "boyfriend" was just another euphemism for "someone to sleep with when she was bored". It was April 29th that would cause her to change her outlook.

She was out partying again with her boy, and the other usuals. Nothing different about the night at all. The bar's were hopping that particular evening, but she didn't 

notice. Somehow, she decided not to get drunk that night. She figured it may have had something to do with it being her time of the month. It's never fun to get drunk while you're cramped up. She drank a few beers, and watched the rest of her crew get wasted, including her boy, Andrew.

After a few hours, they all decided to go for a walk on the peer outside the bar. Ava was still the only one that was sober. Everyone else was hobbling alone, and walking in lines that were anything but straight. She was laughing and carrying on with the rest of them, when she noticed Andrew wasn't with them anymore.

She turned around to see if he was behind them, and to her horror, saw him standing on the edge of the dock with a beer in his hand. It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't already out of his mind, but him being as drunk as he was could only spell trouble.

Ava tried to call for him to come back to them, but he wasn't paying attention. In one split second, everything in Ava's world shattered. Andrew stepped off the dock, and fell face first into the water. She was the only person who was conscious enough to understand the severity of the situation. She left the rest of her friends, and ran to where Andrew had been standing. She started yelling his name and scanning the water for signs of struggle. Andrew never resurfaced.

The suddenness of his death sent her reeling into a spiral of depression. She started drinking even more so than before, and sometimes didn't leave her apartment for days. It was one of these long secluded times that she decided she needed to get away. She needed to get away from the city – away from all the influences – away from the deaths that had shattered her so deeply. She made up her mind that next day to move to Tulsa. She still didn't understand why Tulsa. Perhaps she was drunk, pulled out a map, closed her eyes and pointed, but she couldn't be sure. All she knew, was that she was leaving, and never looking back.

A sudden jolt shot Ava out of her subconscious, and the bus began to travel over roads that weren't suited to it. Ava checked her watch, and saw it was just after one in the morning. The next street sign she saw noted that Tulsa was only 50 miles away. It wouldn't be that long now, and she'd be starting over again. She had no idea how she was going to do it, but all she knew for sure was that she had to. It was the only way she was going to survive.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As soon as the bus rolled to a stop and Ava stepped out, the first thing she thought was that this was a big mistake. The only thing she saw stretching out before her was…nothing. The land beyond the bus terminal was completely barren. The only people she was with were the ones who had been on the bus with her – and even they weren't that numerous.

The bus drove away, leaving a stream of dust in its path. Ava stood at the side of the road – bag in hand. She looked down the long road one way, then the other. She took a deep breath and started walking. The one thing that she failed to plan out was where exactly she was planning to go once she got here.

After about ten minutes of walking, she finally saw signs of life. There was a short street that housed a movie theatre, a small café and a gas station.

"So, you can't find any houses around here, but they have a movie theatre." She said to herself, and continued walking.

She pulled out her pack of cigarettes and put the last one into her mouth. She grabbed her lighter and lit it. No sooner had she taken her first puff, when the skies opened up and it began to pour. The lit cigarette went out instantly.

"Damn." She said, throwing it on the ground.

She ran to find the nearest shelter, which happened to be the movie theatre, and stood underneath the protruded roof. She noticed that there was a movie just getting out, and as the string of people exited the building into the pouring rain, they started running in all different directions for their cars, or just for dear life, covering their heads with jackets, newspapers and whatever else they could find. Soon she found herself alone again with the exception of one boy who couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen. He wore a torn up sweater and old blue jeans. His hair was a dark blonde, and it looked like it was full of grease. She wouldn't have paid much attention to him had she not seen him pull a cigarette from his pocket and light it.

"Oh, thank God." She said to herself.

She waited until he had finished lighting his cigarette before talking to him.

"You mind if I bum a smoke from you?" She asked.

The boy turned to look at her as if just noticing she was there.

"Sure," He said, handing her a fresh one from the same pocket. "You need a light too?"

"Yeah, thanks." She said, lighting the cigarette and taking a long awaited drag on it.

"You waiting for someone?" The boy asked.

Ava laughed. "Yeah. My fairy godmother. Seen her around recently?"

The boy smiled. "No, sorry. She's probably somewhere with the tooth fairy and Santa Claus – two people I haven't seen for a long time. Seriously though – who you really waiting for?"

"Nobody," Ava responded. "Quite honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't know anybody, and I don't have any idea where I'm going."

"Well, you know me now." The boy said, crushing the remains of his cigarette into the concrete.

"Not really. I don't even know your name." Ava said, disintegrating her own cigarette.

"Ponyboy Curtis." He said.

Ava wrinkled her nose into a smile.

"You don't have to lie about it." She said, really not knowing if he was being serious or not.

"I ain't lying," he responded. "My parents were original.

"Yeah, your parents were something." Ava said. "I'm gonna have a talk with them, I think."

Ponyboy went quiet, and looked towards the ground. "My parents both died about a year and a half ago."

Ava felt her mouth go dry. She knew how it felt to have questions asked about your parents if they weren't around."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." She said.

"Don't worry about it. Ponyboy said.

" I know how you must feel. My mother died last year too." She said.

"Really? What happened?" Ponyboy asked.

"Drug overdose." Ava said, quietly.

"Car accident." Pony said.

"That's awful. I'm so sorry." Ava said, very sincerely.

"Thanks."

"You got any other family here?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Ponyboy nodded. "I got two older brothers. Darry and Sodapop."

Ava grinned. "Your parents were oringial."

Ponyboy nodded and smiled. "What about you?" He asked.

Ava felt the smile leave her face. Talking about her sisters was still extremely hard for her.

"Two sisters. Denise and Michelle. I'm the oldest." She said.

"Where are they at?" Pony asked, more quietly, sensing that this was a touchy subject.

"Boston." Ava replied. She didn't want to say anything more about it, because she knew it would either make her really mad or it would bring her to tears – and she didn't want Pony to see her either way.

Ponyboy decided not to stretch the matter any more than that, and instead changed the subject.

"Hey, the rain stopped." He said, stepping out from the shelter. "Guess I can go home now."

Ava smiled at him. "Well, it was nice meeting you," she said "Maybe I'll see you around.

"Sure." Pony replied. He started to walk away, then turned to look back. Hey, you got anywhere to go?" He asked.

Ava shook her head. "I guess I don't."

"You wanna maybe come to my place for the night? Just till you find somewhere else?"

Ava thought about this. On the one hand, she hardly knew him, but on the other hand, what the hell did she have to lose? Besides, anyone who had a brother that was named after a soft drink couldn't be all that bad.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rain had stopped completely when they started walking. Tulsa wasn't all that different than she had anticipated, but the people were friendlier. Everyone they passed had made an effort to nod, smile or say hello – something that Ava wasn't used to.

She and Ponyboy talked the whole walk. She told him about her time in Boston – with the exception of what happened to Andrew and her sisters. Ponyboy told her about his two friends – Dally and Johnny – who both died a few months ago.

"Rumbles?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, basically gang fights. Settled down a lot since then though. Hardly any trouble." Pony replied.

"What do you fight them with?"

"Usually just fists. Knives are considered dirty fighting. Skin against skin is the way to go."

Ava smiled slightly. "I don't know, skin against skin sounds slightly dirtier to me."

Pony only smiled, and nodded towards a gas station.

"You mind if we stop off to see my brother?" Pony asked.

"You mean, the soft drink one or the roof building one?" Ava asked.

"The soft drink one – but don't call him that to his face." Pony said, grinning.

"Sure." Ava said.

They walked over to the DX gas station, which was deserted. Ava looked around, and didn't see any signs of life at all.

"Man, this place is sure hopping." She said, sarcastically.

"Hey, Soda!" Pony called.

Ava turned and saw two guys come out of the building. The first was tall and well built, with dark hair all greased back like Pony's was, wearing a blue muscle shirt. The second was a little shorter and thinner, also with dark, greased hair, and was wearing a blue uniform. The only real difference between the two at first sight, was that the second was absolutely gorgeous.

Ava had to catch her breath when she saw him. She had never seen anyone that beautiful in her life. Sure, Boston was full of good looking men, and Andrew had been a very handsome guy, but Ava could honestly say, that this guy was incredible. If she didn't know better, she would asked for his autograph – thinking he was a movie star.

"Pony? What are you doing here?" The gorgeous one asked – this must be Soda.

"I just got out from the movie, and decided to stop in on the way home."

"Who's your girlfriend?" The other one asked.

"She's not my girlfriend. This is…oh God, I don't even know your name." Pony said turning to her.

Both guys laughed. "Good start." The taller one said.

"Ava" She said, staring directly at the gorgeous one.

The gorgeous one looked back at her, and gave her a soft smile. The tall one pushed passed him to her to her.

"Steve Randle." He said, sticking out his hand, which Ava shook politely. "This here's Sodapop."

So Ava had been right. The gorgeous one could only be Sodapop. A name like that needed a face to go with it. She smiled at both Steve and Soda, and then turned back to Pony.

"You're brother was nice enough to offer me the use of your house for the night." She said, directing the comment at Soda, and completely ignoring Steve, who hadn't taken his eyes off her since she arrived.

Soda looked surprised, and turned to Pony. "You did what?" He asked.

Pony shrugged. "She just moved here from Boston, and had no place to go. I wasn't just gonna leave her there." He said.

Steve laughed. "Ha! You work fast there Ponyboy."

Pony ignored the comment, and Ava could see that his ears were turning red. Ava just smiled at Steve pleasantly.

"Actually, I thought it was a very gentlemen-like thing to do." She said.

She saw Soda smile out of the corner of her eye, as she directed this remark towards Steve. Steve didn't really know how to respond, so he just turned around and went back inside.

"I'm off in ten minutes if you wanna wait, Pony." Soda said.

Ava screamed inside for Pony to wait. Even if he would've said no, she probably would've stayed, even though that would've been rather awkward.

"Yeah, sure. As long as Ava doesn't mind." Pony responded, looking over at her.

"No, not a problem." She said, stealing a glance at Soda, and smiling.

Soda grinned back at her and followed Steve inside. Pony and Ava were left alone in the parking lot. They sat down on a stack of tires, and Pony offered her another cigarette, which she gladly accepted.

"You like him, don't you?" Pony said, not looking directly at her.

Ava had every idea what he was referring to, but pretended to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Soda." Pony replied. "I'm not stupid. I saw how you were looking at him."

Ava shrugged. "So, I find him attractive. Is that a problem? Is he, like, off limits or something? Does he already have a girlfriend?"

"Jesus, you ask a lot of questions for someone who only finds him attractive." Pony responded, looking up at her this time. "No, there's no problem with it, no he's not off limits, and no, he doesn't have a girlfriend." He said all in one breath.

The answer he gave to her last question made Ava breathe a sigh of relief. She had secretly hoped that Soda wouldn't be attached to anyone. Not that she was in dire need of a boyfriend – she had bigger problems than that to deal with first. But, she reckoned that once she got her act cleaned up a little, and got her life back on track, maybe then she would be ready to have another boy in her life. As long as he didn't hurt he, she would be good to go. Judging by what she'd seen of Soda, he just may be the right person for the job.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ava sat with Pony outside the gas station until Soda and Steve re emerged. Steve had taken it upon himself to remove his shirt as he came outside, and Ava could only roll her eyes. It was obvious that he was only trying to impress her, and - as much as she was flattered - she certainly wasn't interested. She wouldn't have minded so much had it been Sodapop. She could certainly drum up several fantasies in her mind in which his shirt would just not be appropriate for the occasion, but she attempted to keep those to herself. Thinking on them caused her to smile though, and she saw Pony give her a strange look.

"You're not actually attracted to that big lump, are you?" He asked, when Steve was out of earshot.

Ava had to snap herself away from her thoughts, and it took her a moment to register what Pony had said.

"What? Oh…God no, I was just…thinking about something else." She replied, trying her best to sound both disgusted and nonchalant.

"Sure." Pony said, flashing her a slight grin, and then turning back to his brother.

They had started walking when Steve suddenly stopped.

"Oh shit, I forgot something back at the station. Soda, you wanna come back with me?" He said.

"Not particularly." Soda replied, shaking his head.

"I'll go." Pony spoke up. "I mean, if Ava doesn't mind walking with Soda for awhile. We'll catch up."

Ava smiled and shook her head. She knew perfectly well just how well Pony and Steve got along, and figured that Pony was just buying her some time with Sodapop alone. Not that she minded – she just hoped that his sudden burst of helpfulness wasn't too obvious to Soda, whom she figured probably knew his and Steve's relationship better than she did.

Soda didn't seem to sense anything suspicious however, and gladly walked with her the rest of the way home. Just before Pony walked back with Steve, he turned and shot a wink at Ava. Ava tried her best not to grin at him, but she just smiled slightly and gave him a look as if to say 'thanks, but shut up'.

Soon, she and Soda were alone, and walking down the road towards his house. At first, the conversation was awkward. Well…that was a lie, because at first there was no conversation. Soda broke the silence first.

"So, I'm under the impression that Pony's told you a lot about me." He said, flashing her a grin that melted her, but she managed to keep her cool.

"What would make you say that?"

"He does that." Soda replied, laughing. "But, I don't know anything about you – other than your name. I'm lucky I even got that."

Ava shrugged, but she could almost hear her heart beating out of her chest. She obviously had no difficulty opening up to Ponyboy about her life, but Soda was different. She was so nervous around him, that talking about her problems seemed contrived. Although she could plainly see he was gorgeous, she didn't know enough about his personality to know if he would understand all she'd been through, and actually be able to sympathize with her. Sure, everything Pony had told her about him – and it had been extensive – had made him out to be the perfect male specimen, but until she found that out for herself, she was careful about how much she revealed to him.

"There's not a whole lot to tell, I guess. My family's messed up, and I'm just trying to get away from it all. Don't ask how I ended up here, but I'm here now, and you're the only people I know at this point."

Soda nodded. "Well, if you were looking for a person without a messed up family, then you're walking with the wrong one."

"Yeah, Pony told me about your situation. Sorry." Ava replied.

"Thanks. But, I don't wanna talk about my family. I'd really like to hear about yours."

Ava paused for a few seconds before answering him. "I guess that depends on how much you really want to hear. I can give you the Reader's Digest version where everything turns out right and pretty, or you can hear the prolonged soap opera version that sucks like hell."

Soda smiled at this, which caught her off guard. "Don't worry, I think I can handle the soap opera version. Besides, it's a long walk to the house, so go for it."

Ava smiled and nodded, and then proceeded to recount the same story she had told Pony. Soda listened through every part of it quite intently. She looked into his eyes every so often, and was surprised to see such genuine concern when she talked about losing Andrew, or getting separated from her sisters.

To be honest, telling her story to Sodapop wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. But, then she got to a part to the story that she hadn't told Pony. To be honest, she hadn't really told anything this part, except for her closest friends. By that point, they would have probably been too drunk to care or remember it the next day, which is probably why she chose to tell them. Normally, she wouldn't have even dreamt of telling anyone this part of her life, especially someone she had just met, but for some reason, she really felt like she could tell him this, and he would understand.

"So, what happened after you lost Andrew? I mean, did you go into seclusion or something? I know that happens when you lose someone like that." Soda asked, as they continued walking.

This was a segue into the dark part of her life if she had ever heard one. At this point, she didn't see why she wouldn't tell him.

"You could say that. I mean, I was already a wreck anyway with the drinking and partying, but this was major for me. Basically the one person that I associated with and cared about other than my sisters was dead, and I was there to see it happen. I blamed myself for it. I kept saying 'What if I was sober? I could have saved him." I guess it was that attitude mixed with life in general that really caused the shit to hit the fan. I uh, I got a hold of some drugs, and started using pretty heavy. Nothing much as first – just some cocaine, and heroin, but then it turned into narcotics, speed, anything I could get my hands on. I would spend days at time being high as a kite and not leaving my room. I've been clean for awhile now, which is good I guess."

Soda was staring at her intently. "What made you stop?"

"Um…it was basically just one of those moments where you realize that your life has gone to hell, and you're tired of it. I was laying on my bed just getting off a buzz, and just starting bawling my eyes out. I couldn't understand how I had gotten so screwed up in such a short amount of time, and figured I'd be better off dead than alive." Ava said, knowing that the next part of the story was the hardest part to tell.

Soda was still looking at her, and she knew she had to keep going.

"I uh, I tried to kill myself that night. I found a blade and slit my wrists. One of my friends found me before I lost too much blood, but needless to say after that, I never touched the drugs again. I still have the scars from it." She said, holding out her wrists for Soda to see.

Soda stopped walking, and took her wrists gently in his hands. His touch sent shivers through her body, but she tried not to show it. The scars on her wrists were clearly visible, and she hated looking at them, but having Soda see them calmed her. Soda ran his fingers over the scars, and looked up at her with a soft smile.

"So, you're a fighter. That's a good thing to tell your sisters." He said, dropping her hands, and starting to walk again.

Ava nodded, and continued to walk. She could honestly say that she felt completely comfortable with Soda, now that she had spilled her deepest, darkest secret with him, and she was glad he had the type of personality that Pony had made him out to have. Perhaps, finally she had a true friend.


End file.
